Jannik Sinner has said that working hard and thriving on pressure is the key to his Grand Slam breakthrough as he won his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
The Italian is now a Grand Slam champion after he rallied from two sets down to outlast Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.
Sinner is the first Italian to win a singles title in Melbourne as he battled past former finalist Medvedev.
Speaking after the match Sinner spoke about how important it is to him that he is the first Italian to win a singles title at the Australian Open, “It means a lot. Maybe the most important. Because the support I get throughout now already years, it’s incredible,” Sinner explained in his post-match press conference.
“Being able to make them happy today, because I feel like that they push me also, that I can believe in myself and then having so much support, it’s amazing. Having them, it’s tough to say, because it’s like the crowd, they give you — that’s the reason why you play in one way, because when the stadium is packed, 15,000 people, they are cheering for you or for your opponent.
“It’s an amazing feeling just to go on court. Then obviously when you’re in tough situation, you want to make a good match also. Like today, I was going so fast, I was two sets to love down, but all the people who came there to watch, I was, like, I have to at least trying to make it a match somehow, and that was today’s case.”
An incredible achievement for Sinner that has been a few years in the making as he has gone from pretender to contender to champion.
The Italian spoke about the process it has taken to reach this point and admitted it was a couple of years ago that made him believe he could win the title, “I think this season what I have done, not last year, two years ago, getting to know my body better, getting to know my team better, this was a very important step for me,” Sinner analysed.
“Then last year we tried to have some more results. I started off really well from the indoor tournaments, Indian Wells, Miami, I made semifinal and final. Then also Monaco I made semifinal. Then the semis in Wimbledon. So I had very good results. I think that made me believe that I can compete against the best players in the world.
“But now I still have to process it, because it was, you know, beating Novak in the semis and then today Daniil in the final, they are tough players to beat. So it’s a great moment for me and my team, but in the other way, we also know that we have to improve if we want to have another chance to hold a big trophy again.
“So this is all, the process and the hard work occasionally will always pay off.”
An incredible feat for Sinner which saw him beat four top 20 players on his way to a maiden Grand Slam title.
Wins over Karen Khachanov, Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev proved that the Italian is ready to become a regular Grand Slam champion.
Those wins required Sinner to thrive under pressure on the biggest moments and the Italian spoke about how performing under pressure has helped him become a Grand Slam champion, “Yeah, there is always pressure, but the pressure is something good. You have to take it in a good way,” Sinner explained.
“It’s a privilege, no? Because there are not so many players who have this kind of pressure, but in the other way, when you have pressure, it’s always, okay, he believes that I can really do it. So yes, I like to dance in the pressure storm. I don’t know how to tell. Like me personally, I like it, because that’s where most of the time I bring out my best tennis.
“I’m also quite relaxed in this occasion, because I always try to enjoy on the court. So I think pressure is a privilege, to be honest.”
An incredible mentality from an incredible player as Sinner will now have time to reflect on an incredible achievement.
To end his press conference Sinner described the title as ‘special’ as he will look to use this title as a platform to build on in the future, “It’s special in any way, because it’s a big trophy,” Sinner stated.
“It feels special when you see the big names in the draw and you can win it, yes, because I feel even more privileged to only be in the draw and then trying to win against other players. You know, the more you go on, you see less people around in the locker room or in the eating area.
“This makes you feel, okay, I’m making a good tournament at the moment. And that was exactly the feeling what I had, like, in the last three rounds or so, because from quarters there is quite empty. That’s I think a really, really good feeling.”
